Unlovable

Chapter Eleven

She couldn't do this. Dinner with her father wasn't the end of the world, it was worse! After all, once the end of the world was over she would be dead, so she wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. But after the dinner was over, Kagami would still be very much alive and suffering the consequences of whatever it was her father wanted to discuss with her. She could feel panic welling up inside of her, so she took a few deep breaths and forced it down. She could not let her emotions get the best of her now.

Taking one more calming breath, Kagami turned to look at herself in the mirror. Usually she didn't care about her appearance, but today it was crucial that she looked the way her father wanted her to. Her hair was pulled back into a simple braid and she was wearing a plain, short-sleeved gray dress that fell just past her knees. It had no design, and she had added no accessories to liven up the outfit. Kagami knew that her father would never approve of her wearing anything flashy or in any way flattering. He believed that ugly and modest somehow meant the same thing. The dress also managed to dull the blue in her eyes, making them look more like the gray of her dress, which was exactly what she wanted. Her father hated her eyes. They were a constant reminder to him of his "tainted" bloodline.

Kagami's grandfather had fallen in love with and married a woman from Sweden. It had horrified his entire family. And their son Takahiro, Kagami's father, had been taken away from them to live in Japan when he was five years old. He had been raised to believe that having foreign blood was a huge defect. And Kagami's blue eyes were a constant reminder to him of the shame his father had caused the Tsukino family.

Once Kagami was satisfied that her appearance wouldn't displease her father anymore than it always did, she glanced at the clock. If she stalled for much longer, her father would arrive before she had the chance to reach the saloon. He would be very displeased if she kept him waiting. So Kagami headed downstairs to the foyer, where her mother was already waiting with a frown on her face.

Midori had her brown hair pulled back into a loose bun and makeup highlighted the features of her face. Two huge pearls dangled from her ears and a matching necklace was clasped around her slender neck. She was also wearing a shimmering black dress that accentuated all of her curves. Kagami knew that if she ever wore anything like that, her father would ground her for the next three years.

"You look stunning mother." she said.

Kagami hated paying compliments to her mother. It only fed her vanity and her mother usually insulted her in return. But Kagami swallowed her pride. Keeping her mother happy would make the night go a lot more smoothly. And Kagami didn't want to create anymore problems for herself.

"I always look stunning." Midori said haughtily. "You on the other hand will never even come close to being beautiful."

Looking at a spot on the wall besides her mother's head, Kagami ignored the comment. Her mother had insulted her appearance far too often for it to bother her anymore. When Midori realized that she wasn't going to get a rise out of her daughter, she turned away with a scowl. They remained standing, awkward silence stretching between them, until heavy footsteps could be heard echoing in the hallway.

Immediately they both straightened up and smoothed out their dresses. Midori pasted on a sickly sweet smile while Kagami made sure to keep her face clear of all emotion. She felt nothing, nothing at all. But even as she chanted that to herself, the increased thumping of her heart proved her wrong. She was not ready to face her father. No matter how prepared she thought she was, he still frightened her.

The door opened and in walked the person Kagami was the most terrified of. Takahiro Tsukino was a tall man with a posture that was stiff and unrelenting. He almost always wore a frown and when he did smile, it took all of the warmth out of the room. He had short, perfectly arranged hair that was a dark black peppered with silver. Like Kagami, his eyes were blue. But where hers were the deep, vibrant blue of cornflowers, his were the blue of ice, piercing and completely cold.